Haunted mornings

This fog seems to be keeping first frost at bay. It is as if the earth has its feet in different seasons now, one firmly planted in summer and the other slipping over the edge into fall. We get freeze warnings and watches every evening, but so far, at least down here by the house, it hasn't frozen yet. Days the temp goes up near 70 and the sun is like a comforting beacon. It feels good to go outside and soak up the warmth.




Alan, our resident fisherman, is catching the gold fish from the garden pond for me....one by one. They are ellusive little beasts and don't seem to want to join us in the house. However, the past two winters I have kept them outdoors with a heater in the pond. First winter the heater failed and all but one froze. Second winter, heater worked fine and they all wintered over only to succumb (all but one again) to bacterial infection caused by stress in the spring. Enough already. We have a twenty gallon tank and a ten. They can join the guppies and the Betta and see if that works better.




We keep harvesting more sweet corn even though it is getting kind of tough. I am glad Agway keeps a record of whatever variety we buy because whatever this stuff is it is really good.Ike knocked a lot of it down but it is still easy enough to pick a couple of dozen ears in a few minutes. Tomatoes are ripening nicely. Some year I will realize that one or two plants of each cherry tomato variety is enough. I think I planted about ten currant tomato plants and discovered that even if you eat all you can stomach every time you go to the garden there will be hundreds (and hundreds) left. The grape tomatoes from last summer volunteered and produced well too. Never thought I could get sick of tiny tomatoes, but there it is.



Wish I knew more about harvesting sunflower seeds. I have been cutting the heads one by one (when they get low enough to bonk me on the head when I am digging potatoes....they remind me of giant showerheads. You wouldn't think it, but a sunflower head can deliver quite a thump). They remind the blue jays and chickadees of lunch counters. As we speak a whole flock of jays, silent all summer, are careening around the house, shrieking and beeping and barking.....I'll bet they are scarfing seeds up in the garden too. They will be welcome as soon as I get enough seeds saved to grow more next summer... I am hoping the ones I am picking are ripe enough to dry and plant. Some of them are the most amazing deep purple color...which rubs off on your fingers if you pick out seeds. It amazes me how much of our produce never makes it in from the garden. They are sure tasty.

Can you guess what this is?
NYV probably knows.